Untitled

Dateca. 1955

Credit LineGift of Sarit Rozycki and Robert Cromwell

Dimensions10 7/8 x 14 in. (27.6 x 35.6 cm)

Object number2003.068.006

Label TextLevinstein was a street photographer who achieved his greatest prominence in the 1950s. He sought his pictures among the inhabitants of some of the grittiest neighborhoods of New York City because, he said, "that's where the life is." A self-effacing, solitary figure, he was quite good at capturing his subjects without their being aware of the camera. Since it is difficult to compose in the camera while being surreptitious, Levinstein routinely cropped his images in the darkroom in order to strengthen their impact. He would also often cut off the heads of his subjects because he believed that body language alone could sufficiently express a person's psychological state. Prowling the city's streets, Levinstein became a master at capturing the "accidents of daily life," such as the collision of the sacred and profane in a storefront window. His personal, intuitive approach made him sensitive to even the slightest of emotional dramas as in his poignant observation of the bridesmaids who long for their own wedding day.
Exhibition HistoryThe Objective Eye: Photographs from the Rozycki-Cromwell Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 10, 2005 - January 15, 2006
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, March - May 2004.
MCCM Newsletter, September - November 2005.

ProvenanceEx coll. Sarit Rozycki and Robert Cromwell, United States.

Status

Not on view

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